I want my old car back!

2007-09-27 10:09

Georgina Guedes

I am not a car person. I like driving, and am aware of the difference in the experience of driving different vehicles, but on the whole I couldn't care less about system, performance, engine, bells and whistles.

I used to drive a Toyota Corolla. It was my first proper car, other than the ancient Citroen Pallas I inherited from my grandfather and with which I terrorised the streets of Joburg (and myself, frequently).

I didn't choose the Toyota. It was just a car that a very honest colleague of mine was selling. She was just going to trade it in, so she gave it to me at a brilliantly low price.

I took it for a drive and loved every second of the experience, so I bought it without ever having test driven another car.

I know you're thinking that after the Citroen, anything would have felt like an easy drive, but this isn't true. My mother's VW's accelerator was too springy. My boyfriend's Corsa's steering was too stiff. And in later years, when I was invited to test drive a BMW for a story, the raw power in the engine was a bit too much for me (athough I did think that maybe I could get used to that).

Out with the old

So, now that my beloved and desperately boring Toyota has been written off by a VW Polo that cruised through a stop street and into the side of me, I am in the market for a new second-hand (previously-loved?) car.

I tried to be intelligent about it, thinking I would try out various different makes of car, but the bewildering and boggling array made my head hurt, so I decided to stick with what I know - gloriously reliable Toyotas.

I suspect that since Toyota has provided me with one decent car, they have my loyalty for life. When I am in the market for a 4x4, I'll go with the Landcruiser; a bakkie, the Hi-Lux; a high-end luxury car, a Lexus. And I'd really love to own a Prius and help save the planet, but it's a little beyond my price range right now.

Although I'll be buying second-hand again, there are a couple of basics I know I want. Air-conditioning (essential), power steering, central locking, radio (CD player preferable).

The essentials

Since I'll be getting a newer car, I think that ABS brakes and airbags would be a nice upgrade from the old Corolla, and I am neither here nor there about electric windows.

What is essential for me is a bit of power. I'm not talking BMW, growling-like-a-tiger, throwing-me-back-in-my-seat-as-I-accelerate power, just enough to let me overtake trucks on an uphill at Christmas. My Corolla was a 1.6, and that seemed to do the trick.

Fortunately, all newer 1.6 Corollas seem to come standard with everything I wanted, so it was merely a case of deciding on my budget and seeing what I could get for it.

Of course, when I told the Automark sales person my absolute ceiling, she came back with cars priced at R5 000 more than that. When I reminded her of my ceiling, she told me that she had already discounted these cars considerably for me.

I test drove the car she wanted to sell me, and I am very excited at the prospect of owning one like it. But since I've seen the same car on offer at McCarthy for the price I am willing to pay, I'm sitting tight and not being dazzled by the lovely, sparkly-new dashboard and smooth transmission and gentle purr down the roads of Joburg.

It's difficult, though.

Georgina Guedes is a (carless) freelance journalist. She's very grateful to her friend Lucy who has lent her a car until she has navigated the dangerous waters of used-car purchasing.

Send your comments to Georgina.

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